Reviews

Montessori Learning in the 21st Century is a landmark commentary and parent education tool that makes Montessori education more accessible to a greater audience. Shannon Helfrich's book is an important achievement for Montessori theory and practice because it is integrated with current neuroscientific findings. It demonstrates the validity of Montessori child psychology and methodology combined with an undeniable conclusion that Dr. Maria Montessori's century-old assumptions anticipated current brain research.
--David J. Kahn
Executive Director, North American Montessori Teachers' Association Many books have been written about Montessori's method, this one is about living
with it. ... Throughout the book, Shannon Helfrich offers many insights,
stories, and simple explanations about how children grow and how Montessori
education facilitates their development. In short, Shannon invites us to take a
fascinating journey, accompanying our child from birth to maturity from the perspective
of the Montessori philosophy. --Andr� Roberfroid
President
Association Montessori
Internationale (AMI) This thought-provoking and informative book encourages parents to reflect how best to interact with their children, as well as understand and offer a variety of ways to assist with their development. Shannon's book represents her extensive knowledge and observations of how children develop, drawing on her many years of experience working with children of all ages and backgrounds. Her anecdotes are entertaining while also being insightful, and every parent - new or not - will gain inspiration and fresh perspectives from reading them.
--Carmen Parker, Sydney, Australia, Montessori Teacher This is a hugely needed book. It is a valuable resource for teachers and a guide for parents in understanding the factors that influence learning and development. It is full of facts, explanations for how the brain develops and why interaction with the environment is essential at specific points in development. Perhaps the author's ability to then link this to Dr. Montessori's work and feed it back to us with another level of understanding is the real genius of this book. This weaving back and forth between neuropsychological research, the impact of the environment and the work of Dr. Montessori provides the reader with what feels like story telling... a spell-binding way to learn. --Bernadette Bialczak Perkins
Montessori Primary Teacher
Montessori Magnet School, Hartford